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Plain Tiger

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Papilionoidea
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Danainae
Tribe: Danaini
Genus: Danaus
Species: D. Arthropods are Animals belonging to the Phylum Arthropoda (from Greek ἄρθρον arthron, " Joint " Insects ( Class Insecta) are a major group of Arthropods and the most diverse group of Animals on the Earth with over a million described Lepidoptera is an order of Insect that includes Moths and butterflies. The Superfamily Papilionoidea (from the word "papilion" meaning "butterfly" contains all the butterflies except for the skippers which The Nymphalidae is a family of about 5000 Species of butterflies which are distributed throughout most of the world Milkweed butterflies are a Subfamily, Danainae, in the family Nymphalidae, or brush-footed butterflies Danaini is a tribe of nymphalid butterflies. Danaus is a Genus of butterflies in the tiger butterfly tribe. chrysippus
Binomial name
Danaus chrysippus
(Linnaeus, 1758)

The Plain Tiger (Danaus chrysippus) or - outside Asia - African Monarch is a common butterfly which is widespread in Asia and Africa. Carl Linnaeus (Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as, May 23 new style (13 May old style 1707 who laid the foundations for Year 1758 ( MDCCLVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common It belongs to the danaine ("Crows and Tigers") subfamily of the brushfooted butterfly family Nymphalidae. Milkweed butterflies are a Subfamily, Danainae, in the family Nymphalidae, or brush-footed butterflies In Biological classification, family ( Latin In Biological classification, family ( Latin The Nymphalidae is a family of about 5000 Species of butterflies which are distributed throughout most of the world

It is believed to be one of the first butterflies to be used in art. A 3500 year old Egyptian fresco in Luxor features the oldest illustration of this species. Ancient Egypt was an Ancient Civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now Fresco (plural either frescos or frescoes) is any of several related Painting types done on Plaster on walls or Luxor (in Arabic: الأقصر al-Uqṣur) is a city in Upper (southern Egypt and the capital of Luxor [1]

The Plain Tiger can be considered the archetypical danaine of India. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Accordingly, this species has been studied with in greater detail than other members of its subfamily occurring in India.

Contents

Description

Male D. c. chrysippus, recently emerged form chrysalis
Male D. c. chrysippus, recently emerged form chrysalis
Female D. c. chrysippus, Mumbai, India
Female D. c. chrysippus, Mumbai, India

The Plain Tiger is a medium sized butterfly with a wingspan of about 7–8 cm. Mumbai ( Marathi:,, IPA: formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the financial A butterfly is an Insect of the order Lepidoptera. Like all Lepidoptera butterflies are notable for their unusual life cycle with a The body is black with many white spots. The wings are tawny the upper side being brighter and richer than the underside. The apical half of the fore wing is black with a white band. The hind wing has 3 black spots around the center. The hind wing has a thin border of black enclosing a series of semicircular white spots.

Background color and extent of white on the forewings varies somewhat across the wide range; see Systematics and taxonomy below.

The male Plain Tiger is smaller than the female, but more brightly colored. In addition, male danaines have a number of secondary sexual characteristics. In the case of the Plain Tiger, these are:

Gallery

D. c. chrysippus, Kolkata, India

Male D. c. chrysippus, Hubballi, India. Hubballi (formerly Hubli Kannada - ಹುಬ್ಬಳ್ಳಿis a city in the state of Karnataka in India. Note additional black hindwing pouch

Female D. c. chrysippus, Mumbai, India

Rare variant with reduced black. Mumbai ( Marathi:,, IPA: formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the financial D. c. chrysippus, Mumbai, India

Distribution

The range of the Plain Tiger extends from Africa and southern Europe, eastwards via Sri Lanka, India, and Myanmar to China and Sulawesi. Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar ( pjìdàunzṵ mjàmmà nàinŋàndɔ̀ is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Sulawesi (formerly known as Celebes, ˈsɛlɛbiz is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the It is a very common species.

Systematics and taxonomy

Despite the external similarity, the Common Tiger is not closely related to this species. Three subspecies are considered valid in a 2005 review:[2]

Asia, Mediterranean region, northern tropical Africa
From the Cape Verde Islands through tropical Africa to Yemen and Oman. The Republic of Cape Verde ( Portuguese: Cabo Verde, 'kabu 'veɾdɨ is a Republic located on an Archipelago in the Macaronesia Yemen ( Arabic: اليَمَن al-Yaman officially the Republic of Yemen ( Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية al-Jumhuuriyya Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman ( Arabic: سلطنة عُمان) is an Arab Country in Southwest Asia on the southeast Browner with broader white forewing spots.
Saint Helena, southern tropical Africa to South Africa, Madagascar, Comoros, Seychelles and Mascarenes. Saint Helena (pronounced saint he-LEE-na) named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin and a British overseas territory The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Madagascar, or Republic of Madagascar (older name Malagasy Republic) is an Island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern The Comoros (ˈkɒməroʊz; جزر القمر Juzur al-Qumur) officially the Union of the Comoros (Union des Comores الإتّحاد القمريّ Seychelles (seɪˈʃɛl or /seɪˈʃɛlz/ in English and seʃɛl in French) officially the Republic of Seychelles (République des Seychelles Creole The Mascarene Islands (or Mascarenhas Archipelago) is a group of Islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar comprising Mauritius Small white forewing spots.

D. c. alcippus is well on the way of becoming a distinct species. [2]

On the other hand, the former subspecies petilia is nowadays recognized as a good species, the Lesser Wanderer. More enigmatic[3] is the status of the former subspecies (or forms) dorippus and bataviana. This article is not about formal Zoological nomenclature; it describes terms that are sometimes used but have no standing under the ICZN. These are tentatively also regarded as a distinct species, the "Dorippus Tiger" (Danaus dorippus).

However, it appears (from analysis of mtDNA sequences, which are only inherited from the mother) that the Dorippus Tiger is the product of an ancient lineage of Danaus hybridizing with Plain Tiger females. Mitochondrial DNA ( mtDNA) is the DNA located in Organelles called mitochondria. A DNA sequence or genetic sequence is a succession of letters representing the Primary structure of a real or hypothetical DNA Molecule In Biology, hybrid has two meanings The first meaning is the result of interbreeding between two animals or plants of different taxa. [2] As the Plain Tiger is known to be parasitized at least occasionally by Spiroplasma bacteria which selectively kill off male hosts,[4] a subsequent scarcity of Plain Tiger males might have led to this hybridization and the evolution of the Dorippus Tiger. Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between Organisms of different Species. Spiroplasma is a genus of Mollicutes, a group of small Bacteria without Cell walls Spiroplasma shares the simple Metabolism The Bacteria ( singular: bacterium) are a large group of unicellular Microorganisms Typically a few Micrometres in length bacteria have eVolution is the third Album by eLDee, it was due to be released in 2008 From the color pattern of this species, it can be assumed that the ancient lineage had no black apex on the forewings, as this character is still absent in D. dorippus.

The presumed subspecies cratippus most likely belongs to either the Lesser Wanderer or the Dorippus Tiger, but confirmation of its taxonomic status requires more research. Taxonomy is the practice and science of classification The word comes from the Greek, taxis (meaning 'order' 'arrangement' and, nomos In any case, these three species are closely related; their closest relatives, in turn, might be the Soldier (D. eresimus) and Queen (D. The Queen Butterfly ( Danaus gilippus) is a North and South American Butterfly in the family Nymphalidae (the brush-foots with a Wingspan gilippus) butterflies. [2]

Several local forms have been described from Asia:

The upper hindwing is more or less very white; about half of the individuals have a second submarginal spot in the forewing. Occasionally found in Southeast Asia, very rarely in India.
The upper hindwing has white markings. Occasionally found on Sulawesi. Sulawesi (formerly known as Celebes, ˈsɛlɛbiz is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the
The upper hindwing has a subapical band composed of somewhat larger spots, and an additional forewing spot as in f. alcippoides is always present. Found throughout the eastern parts of this subspecies' range.

On the other hand, the plethora of named taxa from Africa are apparently F1 or F2 hybrids between the Plain Tiger subspecies (the contact zone of which is in the general area of Uganda) and/or D. A taxon (plural taxa) or taxonomic unit, is a name designating an organism or a group of Organisms In Biological nomenclature according to The Republic of Uganda is a Landlocked country in East Africa. dorippus:

is D. c. chrysippus × D. c. alcippus
are D. c. alcippus × D. dorippus

Ecology

It is found in every kind of country including the desert (pending availability of food) and right up into the mountains till 9000 feet. Primarily a butterfly of open country and gardens. Unlike the Common Tiger, a related species, is least common in damp, forested, hilly regions. The Common Tiger ( Danaus genutia) is one of the common butterflies of India It is a somewhat migratory species.

This butterfly is perhaps the commonest of Indian butterflies and is a familiar sight to practically everyone on the subcontinent. It flies from dawn to dusk, frequenting gardens, sipping from flowers and, late in the day, fluttering low over bushes to find a resting place for the night.

As usual for diurnal butterflies, this species rests with its wings closed. In Animal behavior, diurnality indicates an Animal that is active during the Daytime and rests during the Night. When basking it sits close to the ground and spreads its wings with its back to the sun so that the wings are fully exposed to the sun's rays.

Defense against predators, mimicry

The Plain Tiger is protected from attacks due to the unpalatable alkaloids ingested during the larval stages. This article is about the chemical compounds alkaloids For the Pharmaceutical company in the Republic of Macedonia see Alkaloid (company. The butterfly therefore flies slowly and leisurely, generally close to the ground and in a straight line. This gives a would-be predator ample time to recognise and avoid attacking it. Inexperienced predators will try attacking it, but will learn soon enough to avoid this butterfly as the alkoloids in its body cause vomiting.

The butterfly also has a tough, leathery skin to survive such occasional attacks. Leather is a material created through the Tanning of hides and Skins of Animals primarily Cattlehide The Tanning process When attacked it fakes death and oozes nauseating liquid which makes it smell and taste terrible. This encourages the predator to release the butterfly quickly. The Plain Tiger thus has the ability to recover "miraculously" from predator attacks that would kill most other butterflies.

The protection mechanisms of the Plain Tiger, as of the other danaines, and indeed of all colorful unpalatable butterflies, result in predators learning this memorable aspect at first hand. Predators soon associate the patterns and habits of such butterfly species with unpalatability to avoid hunting them in future.

This advantage of protection has led to a number of edible butterfly species, referred to as "mimics", evolving to resemble inedible butterflies, which are referred to as the "model". The resemblance is not only in color, shapes, and markings, but also in behavioural and flight patterns. This form of mimicry - where an edible species mimics an inedible species - is known as Batesian mimicry. Batesian mimicry is a form of Mimicry typified by a situation where a harmless species has evolved to imitate the warning signals of a harmful species directed at a common

The mimics can resemble the models very closely. In some cases, it requires examination in hand and reference to field guides to tell them apart. The Plain Tiger is specifically mimicked by the following butterflies:

The following butterflies have a general resemblance common to both the Plain Tiger and the Common Tiger:

The similarity between the Plain and Common Tigers makes them Müllerian mimics, as the adverse experience a predator makes with either species will also protect the other. The Leopard Lacewing ( Cethosia cyane) is a Species of heliconiine Butterfly found in South Asia. The Tamil Lacewing Cethosia nietneri is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in South Asia. The Common Palmfly, Elymnias hypermnestra, is a species of satyrid butterfly found in south Asia. Müllerian mimicry ( ü pronounced /y/ appr yu is a natural phenomenon where two or more harmful species that are not closely related and share one or more common

Female Indian Fritillary (Argyreus hyperbius) in a butterfly garden in Tokyo, Japan-

Danaid Eggfly (Hypolimnas misippus) at Chikmagalur, India. officially, is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū. The Danaid Eggfly ( Hypolimnas misippus) is a widespread species of nymphalid Butterfly. Chikmagalur is the alternate name of the following places in India: Chikkamagaluru, a small city in the state of Karnataka Chikkamagaluru Male (right) and f. inaria female.

Leopard Lacewing (Cethosia cyane) in Namdapha National Park, India

Male Indian Tamil Lacewing (Cethosia nietneri mahratta) at Amboli, India

Life history

The Plain Tiger breeds throughout the year in India, except in the Himalayas where it is seasonal. The Leopard Lacewing ( Cethosia cyane) is a Species of heliconiine Butterfly found in South Asia. The Tamil Lacewing Cethosia nietneri is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in South Asia. Amboli may refer to Amboli Sindhudurg district Amboli Mumbai This presumabnly applies in a similar way to the other tropical and subtropical parts of its range too. The Tropics are centered on the Equator and limited in Latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately 23°26' (23 The subtropics are the zones of the Earth immediately north and south of the tropic zone which is bounded by the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of

Egg
The female Plain Tiger perches on the upperside of a leaf and, curling its abdomen around the edge, lays an egg on the underside. In Vertebrates such as Mammals the abdomen (belly constitutes the part of the body between the Thorax (chest and Pelvis. Only one egg is laid per leaf to avoid overcrowding of the caterpillars. The egg is silvery white, shiny, tall, bullet-shaped with an apical point and ribbed sides. A bullet is a solid Projectile propelled by a Firearm or Air gun and is normally made from metal (usually Lead)

Plain Tiger caterpillar making "moat" to feed during the first instar
Plain Tiger caterpillar making "moat" to feed during the first instar

Caterpillar
After the caterpillar hatches, its first meal is the eggshell itself. A moat is deep broad Trench, usually filled with Water, that surrounds a structure installation or town normally to provide it with a preliminary line of It lives its entire larval life on the lower side of the leaves. A larva ( Latin; plural larvae) is a juvenile form of Animal with indirect development, undergoing Metamorphosis (for example During the first few days it has a very interesting manner of feeding: It will take up a spot on the underside of the leaf and nip a complete circle around itself in the lower cuticle of the leaf. In Biology, the term cuticle or cuticula is given to a variety of tough but flexible non-mineral outer coverings of an organism or part of an organism that By doing this it stops the poisonous sap of its host plant from flowing into the area inside the circle. It then proceeds to eats the lower surface of this area, leaving the upper cuticle intact.

As it grows, it eats both the lower and upper cuticle of the circle thus leaving smallish circular holes in the leaves of its host plant. When its mandibles are large enough it eats the complete leaf by gnawing at the edges. The mandible (from Latin mandibula, "jawbone" or inferior maxillary bone forms the lower Jaw and holds the lower teeth in place

The caterpillar is uniformly cylindrical. Its body is covered with bands of black and white interspersed with thick, yellow, dorsolateral spots. The most striking characteristics are the 3 pairs of long and black tentacle-like appendages. Tentacles can refer to the elongated flexible organs that are present in some animals especially Invertebrates and sometimes to the hairs of the leaves of some insectivorous The first pair is moveable and also the longest. The tentacles are present on the 3rd, 6th and 12th segments. The head is shiny, smooth and has alternating black and white semicircular bands. The legs and prolegs are black and the prolegs have white bands at their bases. Prolegs are the fleshy stubby little structures found on the ventral surface of the Abdomen of most larval forms of Insects of the Order Lepidoptera

Pupa
The pupa hangs freely from the support. A pupa ( Latin pupa for doll pl pupae or pupas) is the life stage of some Insects undergoing transformation It is widest at the 7th abdominal segment where it has a double chain of extremely tiny golden and black beads. There are tiny golden spots on the shoulders and wing-cases. The rest of the pupa is pale green with a smooth surface. The pupa is light pink when formed among dry or unnatural objects.

Egg at MNP, Mumbai

Older caterpillar

Fresh pupa at BKC, Mumbai

Pink pupa due to pupation among inanimate objects. Mumbai ( Marathi:,, IPA: formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the financial

Larval food plants

The Plain Tiger's larval host plants are from several families,[5] most importantly Asclepiadoideae (Apocynaceae):

Host plants from other families include Dyerophytum indicum (Plumbaginaceae), Ficus (Moraceae; recorded on F. Plumbaginaceae is a family of Flowering plants, with a Cosmopolitan distribution. Ficus is a Genus of about 850 Species of woody Trees Shrubs Vines Epiphytes and hemi-epiphytes in the family Moraceae is a family of Flowering plants commonly known as the mulberry or fig family laevis, F. racemosa), Ipomoea (Convolvulaceae; recorded on I. alba, I. Ficus racemosa (syn) is a species of Plant in the Moraceae family "Ipomoea" is also a track by the Ethereal wave band Love Spirals Downwards, and a short story by John Rackham published by Ace Books in The Convolvulaceae, known commonly as the Bindweed or Morning glory family, is a group of about 60 genera and more than 1650 species of mostly Ipomoea alba, sometimes called the moonflower (but not to be confused with the other species also called Moonflower) or moon vine, is a bona-nox), Lepisanthes rubiginosa (Sapindaceae) as well as some Euphorbiaceae, Malvaceae, Poaceae, Rosaceae and Scrophulariaceae. Sapindaceae, also known as the soapberry family, is a family of Flowering plants in the order Sapindales. The Spurge family ( Euphorbiaceae) is a large family of Flowering plants with 300 genera and around 7500 species Malvaceae, or the mallow family, is a family of Flowering plants containing over 200 genera with close to 2300 species Poaceae or Gramineae is a family in the Class Liliopsida of the flowering plants. The Rosaceae or Rose family is a large family of Plants with about 3000-4000 species in 100-160 genera Scrophulariaceae, the figwort family, is a family of Flowering plants The plants are annual or perennial herbs with Zygomorphic (rarely

Footnotes

  1. ^ Larsen (1994)
  2. ^ a b c d Smith et al. (2005)
  3. ^ See Smith et al. (2005)
  4. ^ Jiggins et al. (2000)
  5. ^ HOSTS (2007)

References

See also

Biological mimicry occurs when a group of organisms the mimics, have Milkweed butterflies are a Subfamily, Danainae, in the family Nymphalidae, or brush-footed butterflies The Nymphalidae is a family of about 5000 Species of butterflies which are distributed throughout most of the world India has an extremely diverse Terrain, Climate and Vegetation, which comprises extremes of heat and cold of desert and jungle of low lying plains and This is a list of the butterflies of India belonging to the family Nymphalidae and an index to the species articles This is a list of the butterflies of India belonging to the subfamily Danainae of the family Nymphalidae and an index to the species articles
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